"Not at all," Cheeks said, when asked if benching the Pistons' biggest offseason acquisition in the season's seventh game was a message. "Like I said, we were just trying to change some things up. It wasn't about sending a message."

Smith said his only recourse was "to cheer my teammates on."

"You can't really focus on the decisions that people make, higher than you," Smith said. "You just have to be able to adjust around it. As long as I've been in this league, that's what I've been willing to do."

Cheeks called a 20-second timeout with 1:39 left in the first quarter and replaced Smith with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The Pistons trailed 31-14 at the time.

Smith didn't return until 5:25 remained in the third quarter, with the score 76-55, as he and Chauncey Billups were replaced in the second-half starting lineup by Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Singler.

Billups played just six minutes.

"I just wanted to change some things up," Cheeks said. "It wasn't their effort. I just wanted to try and get something different. I think Chauncey, his knee was a little sore anyway. So I was just trying to change some things up, get something going differently."

Asked if he believed Cheeks' decision was intended as a message, whether to him or his teammates, Smith replied, "You never know."

"Like I said, you just have to adjust around situations and circumstances," he added. "You can't really let it affect your thought process. You just have to roll with the punches."

Smith seemed not to internalize the move, though he is as frustrated as anyone by the Pistons' lurching chemistry.

"I'm not a selfish player, so I'm not going to go in there and demand plays be ran for me," he said. "I just kind of look around and see what in the game is being forced my way, or given my way, and just work my way around it.

"I think I can be effective offensively but, you know, it might be somebody else's night. You never know what it is. Like I said, I can't focus on things that I can't control."